The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Genesis 1:24–31 — The Sixth Day. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

On this sixth creative day there are four words of power. By the first, the higher animals are summoned into being; by the second, man; the third provides for the continuance and increase of the beings which God had created; the fourth assigns the vegetable world both to man and animals as food.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

To speak of animals having “a soul” is strange to modern ears. But it was not so to the Israelites, who realized, perhaps better than we do, man’s kinship with the animal world, in virtue of that principle of nephesh , the mystery of life, which is shared by the animals and human beings.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

which, however, no more implied that the animals were to be developed from the soil than were the finny tribes generated by the sea. Simply in obedience to the Divine call, and as the product of creative energy, they were to spring from the plastic dust as being essentially earth-born creatures.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

He that of stones can raise children to Abraham, and who called forth the universe from nothing, could easily produce animals from the dull and sluggish earth, although inanimate.

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And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yō·mer hā·’ā·reṣ tō·w·ṣê ḥay·yāh ne·p̄eš lə·mî·nāh bə·hê·māh wā·re·meś wə·ḥay·ṯōw- ’e·reṣ lə·mî·nāh way·hî- ḵên

Word by word14 · parsed

אֱלֹהִ֗ים’ĕ·lō·hîmAnd GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

’Elōhîm (H430), grammatically plural in form, governs a singular verb throughout the chapter — the standard Hebrew construction. The plurality of the form will become theologically loaded only at v. 26 ("Let Us make").

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

הָאָ֜רֶץhā·’ā·reṣLet the earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

תּוֹצֵ֨אtō·w·ṣêbring forthH3318

√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbHifilImperfect Jussivethird person feminine singular

Hifil (causative) jussive of yâtsâ’: God does not address the beasts directly (as He blesses them in v. 22) but commands the earth to yield them. The same verb of "causing to bring out" governed the plants in v. 11–12, binding day six structurally to day three.

חַיָּה֙ḥay·yāhlivingH2416

√ chay — aliveAdjectivefeminine singular

נֶ֤פֶשׁne·p̄ešcreaturesH5315

√ nephesh — properly, a breathing creature, iNounfeminine singular

nephesh (H5315) — properly a breathing creature. Cambridge notes this is "the mystery of life, which is shared by the animals and human beings"; the Hebrew does not reserve nephesh for humanity.

לְמִינָ֔הּlə·mî·nāhaccording to their kindsH4327

√ mîyn — a sort, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine singular

lə-mînāh (H4327), "according to its kind" — a rare word (18 verses) that becomes the refrain of the created order and is taken up almost verbatim in the Flood narrative (Gen 6–8).

בְּהֵמָ֥הbə·hê·māhlivestockH929

√ bᵉhêmâh — properly, a dumb beastNounfeminine singular

וָרֶ֛מֶשׂwā·re·meśland crawlersH7431

√ remes — a reptile or any other rapidly moving animalConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular

remes (H7431): the creeping/swarming things of the land, distinguished from the remes of the waters made on day five (v. 20).

וְחַֽיְתוֹ־wə·ḥay·ṯōw-and beastsH2416

√ chay — aliveConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

אֶ֖רֶץ’e·reṣof the earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Nounfeminine singular

לְמִינָ֑הּlə·mî·nāhaccording to their kindsH4327

√ mîyn — a sort, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine singular

וַֽיְהִי־way·hî-And it wasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

כֵֽן׃ḵênsoH3651

√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb

kên (H3651), "so" — the recurring seal way-hî kên ("and it was so"), marking the exact correspondence of word and deed.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-said God: Let-bring-forth the-earth a-breathing-creature living after-its-kind — cattle and-crawling-thing and-living-thing-of earth after-its-kind. And-it-was so.

Where the English smooths the original

תּוֹצֵ֨א BSB "bring forth" is a Hifil jussive of yâtsâ’ ("cause to go out") with the earth as subject — literally "let the earth cause to come out." The smooth English hides the strangeness: the ground is commanded to produce, exactly as in v. 11 of the plants. It is not spontaneous generation but earth obeying a word.
נֶ֤פֶשׁ BSB "creatures" renders nephesh ḥayyāh — literally a "living breathing-thing" or "living soul." The very phrase later used of man (Gen 2:7) is here spoken over the beasts. English loses the deliberate overlap of nephesh across animal and human life.
וָרֶ֛מֶשׂ BSB "land crawlers" renders remes — a swarming, teeming, low-moving mass. It is not strictly "reptiles" but the whole multitude of small creatures; the word points to number more than to legs.
וְחַֽיְתוֹ־ BSB "beasts of the earth" is ḥaytô-’ereṣ, an archaic construct form (with the old -ô ending). The same root ḥay ("living") names both the broad "living creature" at the head of the verse and, narrowed by "of the earth," the wild roving beasts at its end.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

Notice the word “made,” Lat. fecit , not “created”; cf. Genesis 1:7 ; Genesis 1:16 . and God saw that it was good ] It is noticeable that the blessing, which followed these words after the creation of the water animals and the birds ( Genesis 1:22 ), is here omitted.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

The wild beasts, and the several sorts of them; beginning the account with the last mentioned, as is frequent in the Hebrew language, and so he made all the rest

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The creation of the higher animals completed the earth's preparation for the advent of man; to which, doubtless, the Creator's commendation of his finished work had a special reference. Everything was in readiness for the magnum opus which was to close his creative labor and crown his completed cosmos.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

The Creator's wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant. The power of God's providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.

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God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’eṯ- ’ĕ·lō·hîm way·ya·‘aś ḥay·yaṯ hā·’ā·reṣ lə·mî·nāh wə·’eṯ- hab·bə·hê·māh lə·mî·nāh wə·’êṯ kāl- re·meś hā·’ă·ḏā·māh lə·mî·nê·hū ’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yar kî- ṭō·wḇ

Word by word18 · parsed

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

אֱלֹהִים֩’ĕ·lō·hîmGodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיַּ֣עַשׂway·ya·‘aśmadeH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

‘āśāh (H6213), "made/did" — the verb of fashioning, used of God's handiwork; deliberately distinct from bārā’ ("create out of nothing," reserved here for the sea-monsters of v. 21 and man in v. 27).

חַיַּ֨תḥay·yaṯthe beastsH2416

√ chay — aliveNounfeminine singular construct

הָאָ֜רֶץhā·’ā·reṣof the earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

לְמִינָ֗הּlə·mî·nāhaccording to their kindsH4327

√ mîyn — a sort, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine singular

וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

הַבְּהֵמָה֙hab·bə·hê·māhthe livestockH929

√ bᵉhêmâh — properly, a dumb beastArticleNounfeminine singular

לְמִינָ֔הּlə·mî·nāhaccording to their kindsH4327

√ mîyn — a sort, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine singular

וְאֵ֛תwə·’êṯandH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

כָּל־kāl-everythingH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

רֶ֥מֶשׂre·meśthat crawlsH7431

√ remes — a reptile or any other rapidly moving animalNounmasculine singular construct

הָֽאֲדָמָ֖הhā·’ă·ḏā·māhupon the earthH127

√ ʼădâmâh — soil (from its general redness)ArticleNounfeminine singular

’ăḏāmāh (H127) — "soil from its general redness." The switch from ’ereṣ (v. 24) to ’ăḏāmāh is the seed of the wordplay ’āḏām / ’ăḏāmāh that names humanity from the ground.

לְמִינֵ֑הוּlə·mî·nê·hūaccording to its kindH4327

√ mîyn — a sort, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

אֱלֹהִ֖ים’ĕ·lō·hîmAnd GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיַּ֥רְאway·yarsawH7200

√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way-yar’ (H7200), "and He saw" — divine inspection. The repeated "God saw that it was good" frames each act as answering, not falling short of, the Creator's intention.

כִּי־kî-thatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

טֽוֹב׃ṭō·wḇ[it was] goodH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseAdjectivemasculine singular

ṭôḇ (H2896), "good" — in the widest sense: fit, beautiful, answering its purpose. The blessing (bārak) that followed the verdict in v. 22 is conspicuously absent here; the narrator hurries on to man.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-made God the-living-thing-of the-earth after-its-kind, and-the-cattle after-its-kind, and-every crawling-thing-of the-ground after-its-kind. And-saw God that-[it-was] good.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ BSB "made" is ‘āśāh (H6213), not bārā’ ("create," v. 27). Cambridge flags it: "Notice the word 'made,' Lat. fecit, not 'created.'" The land animals are fashioned; only man, at the climax, is created. English uses one register; the Hebrew keeps two.
הָֽאֲדָמָ֖ה BSB "upon the earth" here renders ’ăḏāmāh (H127, "soil, tilled ground") — a different word from ’ereṣ ("earth, land") used in v. 24. The narrator quietly shifts to the red soil from which man (’āḏām) will be named, threading the vocabulary toward 2:7.
חַיַּ֨ת The verse reverses the order of v. 24, naming the wild beast (ḥayyat hā-’āreṣ) first. Gill notes the account begins "with the last mentioned, as is frequent in the Hebrew language" — a chiastic close that the flat English list cannot signal.
טֽוֹב׃ BSB supplies "[it was] good"; the Hebrew is the bare kî-ṭôḇ, "that good." The verdict of approval (ṭôḇ, H2896) is pronounced over the beasts — but, pointedly, the blessing given to the sea-creatures in v. 22 is here withheld.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

When the Creator says, "Let us make man," he calls attention to the work as one of pre-eminent importance.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

i. Until recently, the traditional Christian interpretation has seen in the 1st pers. plur. a reference to the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. The requirements of a sound historical exegesis render this view untenable: for it would read into the Book of Genesis the religious teaching which is based upon the Revelation of the New Testament.

Cambridge canvasses six readings of "Let Us" and finally favours the plural of Deliberation and the address-to-the-heavenly-host; it explicitly resists reading the Trinity back into the verse — set here in deliberate tension with the older voices.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

so in Elohim, the many powers concentrated in one being, lies the germ of the doctrine of a plurality of persons in the Divine Unity. It is not a formal proof of the Trinity, nor do believers in the inspiration of Holy Scripture so use it.

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Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy Scripturec. 1905

but that between man and them all there is a gulf, since he is made in the divine image. That image implies personality, the consciousness of self, the power to say ‘I,’ as well as purity.

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Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yō·mer na·‘ă·śeh ’ā·ḏām bə·ṣal·mê·nū kiḏ·mū·ṯê·nū wə·yir·dū ḇiḏ·ḡaṯ hay·yām ū·ḇə·‘ō·wp̄ haš·šā·ma·yim ū·ḇab·bə·hê·māh ū·ḇə·ḵāl hā·’ā·reṣ ū·ḇə·ḵāl hā·re·meś hā·rō·mêś ‘al- hā·’ā·reṣ

Word by word19 · parsed

אֱלֹהִ֔ים’ĕ·lō·hîmThen GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥הna·‘ă·śehLet Us makeH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalImperfect Cohortative if contextualfirst person common plural

na‘ăśeh (H6213): first person common plural. The shift from "Let there be" to "Let Us make" is, in Barnes' words, the point at which "the language of the fiat of creation ascends to the Creator himself." The plurality of the verb-form is the whole interpretive battleground.

אָדָ֛ם’ā·ḏāmmanH120

√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iNounmasculine singular

’āḏām (H120) — a collective noun with no plural, "mankind"; etymologically tied to ’ăḏāmāh, the red soil. Barnes: "It therefore marks the earthly aspect of man."

בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּbə·ṣal·mê·nūin Our imageH6754

√ tselem — a phantom, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common plural

ṣelem (H6754, in only 15 verses): "shade, image" in visible outline. Its rarity and concreteness make it weighty; man is God's struck likeness set into creation.

כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּkiḏ·mū·ṯê·nūafter Our likenessH1823

√ dᵉmûwth — resemblancePreposition-kNounfeminine singular constructfirst person common plural

dəmûth (H1823): "likeness, resemblance." Whether it differs from ṣelem is the oldest debate in the verse — the Greek and Latin Fathers split imago (body) from similitudo (soul); the Lutheran and most modern readings treat them as one intensified idea.

וְיִרְדּוּ֩wə·yir·dūto ruleH7287

√ râdâh — to tread down, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine plural

rāḏāh (H7287): "to tread, rule" — dominion as the consequence, not the content, of the image. K&D: man's rule over nature is "the consequence or effluence of his likeness to God."

בִדְגַ֨תḇiḏ·ḡaṯover the fishH1710

√ dâgâh — {a fish (often used collectively)}Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct

הַיָּ֜םhay·yāmof the seaH3220

√ yâm — a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of waterArticleNounmasculine singular

וּבְע֣וֹףū·ḇə·‘ō·wp̄and the birdsH5775

√ ʻôwph — a bird (as covered with feathers, or rather as covering with wings), often collectivelyConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

הַשָּׁמַ֗יִםhaš·šā·ma·yimof the airH8064

√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine plural

וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ū·ḇab·bə·hê·māhover the livestockH929

√ bᵉhêmâh — properly, a dumb beastConjunctive waw, Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular

וּבְכָל־ū·ḇə·ḵāland over allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

הָאָ֔רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe earth itselfH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

The intrusion of "and over all the earth" between two animal classes is a textual crux. K&D defends the Masoretic reading against the Syriac conjecture ("all the wild beasts of the earth"): God gives man supremacy "not only over the animal world, but over the earth itself."

וּבְכָל־ū·ḇə·ḵāland everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

הָרֶ֖מֶשׂhā·re·meścreatureH7431

√ remes — a reptile or any other rapidly moving animalArticleNounmasculine singular

הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂhā·rō·mêśthat crawlsH7430

√ râmas — properly, to glide swiftly, iArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

עַל־‘al-uponH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

הָאָֽרֶץ׃hā·’ā·reṣ[it]H776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-said God: Let-Us-make man in-Our-image, after-Our-likeness; and-let-them-rule over-the-fish-of the-sea and-over-the-birds-of the-heavens and-over-the-cattle and-over-all the-earth and-over-every crawling-thing the-[one]-crawling upon the-earth.

Where the English smooths the original

נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה BSB "Let Us make" renders a first-person plural cohortative na‘ăśeh. Every prior fiat was "Let there be"; here, for the only time, God speaks in the plural and in counsel. The Hebrew form itself — not any added word — is the crux that has carried Trinitarian, angelic, and "plural of deliberation" readings.
בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ BSB "in Our image" is bə-ṣalmēnū, from ṣelem (H6754) — literally a shadow, cut outline, hewn figure (the same noun used elsewhere for carved idols). The metaphor is starkly physical-becoming-spiritual; "image" in English is tamer than the Hebrew's "struck likeness."
כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ BSB "after Our likeness" renders kiḏmûtēnū (dəmûth, H1823, "resemblance"). Keil & Delitzsch argue ṣelem and dəmûth are synonyms "merely combined to add intensity" — "an image which is like Us" (Luther). The two English prepositions "in / after" suggest a distinction the Hebrew may not press.
וְיִרְדּוּ֩ BSB "to rule" is wə-yirdû, the plural jussive of rāḏāh (H7287, "tread down, have dominion"). The plural verb — "let them rule" — already signals that "man" (singular ’āḏām) is a race, not one person, before v. 27 ever names male and female.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

This significant verb is thrice repeated with reference to man. It indicates, first, that man has that in him which was not a development or evolution, but something new.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Man in his essential part, the image of God in him, was entirely a new creation.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The threefold parallelism of the members of this verse is likewise suggestive, as Umbreit, Ewald, and Delitzsch remark, of the jubilation with which the writer contemplates the crowning work of Elohim's creative word.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Male and female created he them — Not at once, or both together, as some have unscripturally taught, but first the man out of the earth, and then the woman out of the man.

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So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm ’eṯ- way·yiḇ·rā hā·’ā·ḏām bə·ṣal·mōw bə·ṣe·lem ’ĕ·lō·hîm bā·rā ’ō·ṯōw zā·ḵār ū·nə·qê·ḇāh bā·rā ’ō·ṯām

Word by word13 · parsed

אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀’ĕ·lō·hîmSo GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיִּבְרָ֨אway·yiḇ·rācreatedH1254

√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

bārā’ (H1254), "create" — subject is always God; never of human making. Its three-fold use here (words 2, 7, 11) is emphatic: man's inmost being is, in Barnes' phrase, "entirely a new creation."

הָֽאָדָם֙hā·’ā·ḏāmmanH120

√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iArticleNounmasculine singular

בְּצַלְמ֔וֹbə·ṣal·mōwin His [own] imageH6754

√ tselem — a phantom, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

bə-ṣalmô, "in His image" — the third-person form of v. 26's "Our image," which (Barnes argues) limits the plural pronouns of v. 26 to God Himself: "our image" becomes "His image."

בְּצֶ֥לֶםbə·ṣe·lemin the imageH6754

√ tselem — a phantom, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

אֱלֹהִ֖ים’ĕ·lō·hîmof GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

בָּרָ֣אbā·rāHe createdH1254

√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

אֹת֑וֹ’ō·ṯōwhimH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular

’ōṯô ("him," singular) vs. ’ōṯām ("them," plural, word 12) — the grammatical hinge of the verse: humanity is one and yet two.

זָכָ֥רzā·ḵārmaleH2145

√ zâkâr — properly, remembered, iNounmasculine singular

zāḵār (H2145, "male") and nəqēḇāh (H5347, "female") — the sexes named with the generic biological terms; the divine image belongs to both equally and from the first.

וּנְקֵבָ֖הū·nə·qê·ḇāhand femaleH5347

√ nᵉqêbâh — female (from the sexual form)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine singular

בָּרָ֥אbā·rāHe createdH1254

√ bârâʼ — (absolutely) to createVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

אֹתָֽם׃’ō·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-created God the-man in-His-image; in-the-image-of God He-created him; male and-female He-created them.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּבְרָ֨א BSB "created" is bārā’ (H1254) — the verb of pure creation, used three times in this one verse. After v. 26's deliberation, the deed is told not with ‘āśāh ("made," v. 25) but with bārā’, reserved in Scripture for God alone. Ellicott: the thrice-repeated verb marks "something new."
אֹת֑וֹ BSB "He created him" (’ōṯô, singular) then "He created them" (’ōṯām, plural, word 12). The Hebrew deliberately swings from him to them in one breath. K&D: the word ’ōṯām "completely overthrows the idea that man was at first androgynous." English keeps both pronouns but cannot show the jolt.
זָכָ֥ר BSB "male" (zāḵār) and "female" (nəqēḇāh, word 10) are biological terms — not "man and woman" (’îsh / ’ishshāh). The image of God is stamped on humanity as sexed, both alike. The three parallel clauses are, K&D notes, the first true Hebrew poetry in the Bible — "the words swell into a jubilant song."

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

And God blessed them. Not him , as LXX. As on the introduction of animal life the Divine Creator conferred on the creatures his blessing, so when the first pair of human beings are formed they are likewise enriched by their Creator's benediction.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

and subdue it ] A strong word, denoting subjugation to power. Man’s authority over the creatures of the earth confers upon him responsibility for the exercise of his powers. Supremacy over the fishes, the birds, and the beasts, will require courage, forethought, skill, observation, and judgement.

source ↗

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

It differs from that of the lower animals chiefly in the element of supremacy.

source ↗

Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

It is here rather a promise or benediction than a command, as appears both from Genesis 2:22 , where the same words are applied to the brute beasts, who are not subject to a command

source ↗

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm way·ḇā·reḵ ’ō·ṯām ’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yō·mer lā·hem pə·rū ū·rə·ḇū ū·mil·’ū ’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ wə·ḵiḇ·šu·hā ū·rə·ḏū biḏ·ḡaṯ hay·yām ū·ḇə·‘ō·wp̄ haš·šā·ma·yim ū·ḇə·ḵāl ḥay·yāh hā·rō·me·śeṯ ‘al- hā·’ā·reṣ

Word by word22 · parsed

אֱלֹהִים֒’ĕ·lō·hîmGodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְway·ḇā·reḵblessedH1288

√ bârak — to kneelConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

bārak (H1288), Piel, "to bless" — the first divine blessing on humanity. Unlike the beasts (v. 22), the blessing here is spoken to them ("and said to them"), addressing creatures who can hear and answer.

אֹתָם֮’ō·ṯāmthemH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural

אֱלֹהִ֗ים’ĕ·lō·hîmandH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

לָהֶ֜םlā·hemto them

Prepositionthird person masculine plural

פְּר֥וּpə·rūBe fruitfulH6509

√ pârâh — to bear fruit (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperativemasculine plural

pārāh (H6509, "be fruitful," in only 28 verses) — a rare word that, with rāḇāh ("multiply") and mālē’ ("fill"), forms the creation-blessing reused verbatim to Noah after the Flood (Gen 9:1).

וּרְב֛וּū·rə·ḇūand multiplyH7235

√ râbâh — to increase (in whatever respect)Conjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine plural

וּמִלְא֥וּū·mil·’ūand fillH4390

√ mâlêʼ — to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאָ֖רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָwə·ḵiḇ·šu·hāand subdue itH3533

√ kâbash — to tread downConjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine pluralthird person feminine singular

kāḇash (H3533), "subdue, bring into bondage" — the most forceful verb in the commission. Man's dominion (rāḏāh, word 12) is paired with subjugation of the earth: a charge, Cambridge notes, that "confers upon him responsibility for the exercise of his powers."

וּרְד֞וּū·rə·ḏūruleH7287

√ râdâh — to tread down, iConjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine plural

rāḏāh (H7287), "rule" — the same dominion-verb decreed in v. 26, now enacted as imperative; the purpose of v. 26 becomes the mandate of v. 28.

בִּדְגַ֤תbiḏ·ḡaṯover the fishH1710

√ dâgâh — {a fish (often used collectively)}Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct

הַיָּם֙hay·yāmof the seaH3220

√ yâm — a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of waterArticleNounmasculine singular

וּבְע֣וֹףū·ḇə·‘ō·wp̄and the birdsH5775

√ ʻôwph — a bird (as covered with feathers, or rather as covering with wings), often collectivelyConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםhaš·šā·ma·yimof the airH8064

√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine plural

וּבְכָל־ū·ḇə·ḵāland everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

חַיָּ֖הḥay·yāhcreatureH2416

√ chay — aliveNounfeminine singular

הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂתhā·rō·me·śeṯthat crawlsH7430

√ râmas — properly, to glide swiftly, iArticleVerbQalParticiplefeminine singular

עַל־‘al-uponH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

הָאָֽרֶץ׃hā·’ā·reṣthe earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-blessed them God, and-said to-them God: Be-fruitful and-multiply and-fill the-earth and-subdue-it; and-rule over-the-fish-of the-sea and-over-the-birds-of the-heavens and-over-every living-thing the-[one]-crawling upon the-earth.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ BSB "blessed" is way-ḇārek (Piel of bārak, H1288). The Pulpit underlines the pronoun: "And God blessed them. Not him, as LXX." The blessing falls on the pair, not the individual — the same blessing-verb spoken over the sea-creatures in v. 22, now lifted to humanity.
וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ BSB "and subdue it" renders wə-ḵiḇšuhā, from kāḇash (H3533) — a strong word of subjugation, treading underfoot. Cambridge: "A strong word, denoting subjugation to power." The English "subdue" is mild; the Hebrew is the language of conquest, here turned to stewardship.
פְּר֥וּ BSB "Be fruitful and multiply" (pərû ū-rəḇû) are masculine plural imperatives — yet many of the voices (Benson, Poole, JFB) read them as benediction and promise rather than bare command, "as appears from Genesis 1:22, where the same words are applied to the brute creatures." Grammar and force do not perfectly coincide.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

But undoubtedly the food originally assigned to man was vegetable; nor was express leave given to eat flesh until after the flood.

source ↗

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

the sacred writer here hands down to us from the mists of a hoary antiquity the primitive deed of conveyance, which lies at the foundation of the the common property of man in the earth, and all that it contains.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

By comparison with Genesis 9:3 , we see that the writer believed that, until after the Flood, mankind subsisted upon a purely vegetable diet.

source ↗

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

It does not appear that liberty was given to men to eat animal food before the flood.

source ↗

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yō·mer hin·nêh nā·ṯat·tî lā·ḵem ’eṯ- kāl- zō·rê·a‘ ze·ra‘ ’ă·šer ‘ê·śeḇ ‘al- pə·nê ḵāl hā·’ā·reṣ wə·’eṯ- kāl- hā·‘êṣ ’ă·šer- p̄ə·rî- zō·rê·a‘ bōw ‘êṣ zā·ra‘ yih·yeh lā·ḵem lə·’āḵ·lāh

Word by word27 · parsed

אֱלֹהִ֗ים’ĕ·lō·hîmThen GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

הִנֵּה֩hin·nêhBeholdH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Interjection

hinnêh (H2009), "Behold!" — an interjection of presentation, opening the food-grant like a formal proclamation.

נָתַ֨תִּיnā·ṯat·tîI have givenH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

nāṯan (H5414), "give" — Qal perfect, first person. The completed aspect makes this a legal donation: man holds the earth's produce by grant of the Creator, not by inherent right.

לָכֶ֜םlā·ḵemyou

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

זֹרֵ֣עַzō·rê·a‘vvvH2232

√ zâraʻ — to sowVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

zōrēa‘ (H2232), participle "sowing" — with zera‘ ("seed") it forms a cognate construction ("seeding seed"), the same self-replicating language used of the plants on day three (v. 11).

זֶ֗רַעze·ra‘seed-bearingH2233

√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular

אֲשֶׁר֙’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

עֵ֣שֶׂב׀‘ê·śeḇplantH6212

√ ʻeseb — grass (or any tender shoot)Nounmasculine singular

עַל־‘al-onH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

פְּנֵ֣יpə·nêthe faceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Nouncommon plural construct

כָל־ḵālof allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הָאָ֔רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-andH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

כָּל־kāl-everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הָעֵ֛ץhā·‘êṣtreeH6086

√ ʻêts — a tree (from its firmness)ArticleNounmasculine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-whoseH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

פְרִי־p̄ə·rî-fruitH6529

√ pᵉrîy — fruit (literally or figuratively)Nounmasculine singular construct

זֹרֵ֣עַzō·rê·a‘containsH2232

√ zâraʻ — to sowVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

בּ֥וֹbōw. . .

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

עֵ֖ץ‘êṣH6086

√ ʻêts — a tree (from its firmness)Nounmasculine singular

זָ֑רַעzā·ra‘seedH2233

√ zeraʻ — seedNounmasculine singular

יִֽהְיֶ֖הyih·yehThey will beH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

לָכֶ֥םlā·ḵemyours

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

לְאָכְלָֽה׃lə·’āḵ·lāhfor foodH402

√ ʼoklâh — foodPreposition-lNounfeminine singular

’oḵlāh (H402, "food," in only 18 verses) — a rare term binding this verse to v. 30 (the animals' food) and, by contrast, to Gen 9:3, where the post-Flood grant adds animal flesh. The original diet is herb and fruit alone.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-said God: Behold, I-have-given to-you every herb sowing seed which-[is] upon the-face-of all the-earth, and-every tree in-which [is] fruit-of-a-tree sowing seed — to-you it-shall-be for-food.

Where the English smooths the original

נָתַ֨תִּי BSB "I have given" is nāṯattî (H5414, perfect) — a completed, deed-of-conveyance act: "I have given," not "I give." Barnes calls this "the primitive deed of conveyance, which lies at the foundation of the common property of man in the earth." The plants are granted, not merely available.
זֶ֗רַע BSB "seed-bearing" renders the participle zōrēa‘ (from zāra‘, H2232, "to sow") with the noun zera‘ ("seed"): literally "herb seeding seed." The cognate accusative (sowing-seed) emphasizes self-propagation — plants that carry their own future inside them.
לְאָכְלָֽה׃ BSB "for food" is lə-’oḵlāh (H402). The diet assigned to man is vegetable only — herb and fruit. The same rare word ’oḵlāh reappears in the parallel grant to the animals (v. 30) and is decisively rewritten after the Flood (Gen 9:3), where flesh is added.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The words, “every green herb,” would be more literally “all the green, or verdure, of the herbs.” A distinction is, therefore, drawn between the food ordained for mankind and the food ordained for the animals.

source ↗

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

From this Delitzsch infers that prior to the introduction of sin the animals were not predaceous. The geological evidence of the existence of death in prehistoric times is, however, too powerful to be resisted

source ↗

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Still, the main substance of the means of animal life, and the ultimate supply of the whole of it, are derived from the plant.

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

perhaps those creatures which are now carnivorous were not so at their first creation: and it was so; every creature, both man and beast, had food suitable to their nature and appetite, and a sufficiency of it.

source ↗

And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·lə·ḵāl- ḥay·yaṯ hā·’ā·reṣ ū·lə·ḵāl- ‘ō·wp̄ haš·šā·ma·yim ū·lə·ḵōl rō·w·mêś ‘al- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer- ne·p̄eš ḥay·yāh ’eṯ- bōw kāl- ye·req ‘ê·śeḇ lə·’āḵ·lāh way·hî- ḵên

Word by word21 · parsed

וּֽלְכָל־ū·lə·ḵāl-And to everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

חַיַּ֣תḥay·yaṯbeastH2416

√ chay — aliveNounfeminine singular construct

הָ֠אָרֶץhā·’ā·reṣof the earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

וּלְכָל־ū·lə·ḵāl-and everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

ע֨וֹף‘ō·wp̄birdH5775

√ ʻôwph — a bird (as covered with feathers, or rather as covering with wings), often collectivelyNounmasculine singular construct

הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםhaš·šā·ma·yimof the airH8064

√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine plural

וּלְכֹ֣ל׀ū·lə·ḵōland everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

רוֹמֵ֣שׂrō·w·mêścreature that crawlsH7430

√ râmas — properly, to glide swiftly, iVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

rômēś (H7430), "creeping/moving" participle — the verbal cousin of the noun remes (v. 24); together they bracket the whole low-moving animal world.

עַל־‘al-uponH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

הָאָ֗רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe earthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-everything that hasH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

נֶ֣פֶשׁne·p̄ešthe breathH5315

√ nephesh — properly, a breathing creature, iNounfeminine singular

nephesh (H5315) with ḥayyāh (H2416): "living breath/soul." The criterion of the grant is simply breathing life — every animate creature is fed by the same hand.

חַיָּ֔הḥay·yāhof lifeH2416

√ chay — aliveAdjectivefeminine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

בּוֹ֙bōwin it

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

כָּל־kāl-[I have given] everyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

יֶ֥רֶקye·reqgreenH3418

√ yereq — properly, pallor, iNounmasculine singular

yereq (H3418, "green, verdure," in only 6 verses) — its rarity sharpens the contrast: the beasts get greenery; man gets the cultivated seed and fruit of v. 29.

עֵ֖שֶׂב‘ê·śeḇplantH6212

√ ʻeseb — grass (or any tender shoot)Nounmasculine singular

לְאָכְלָ֑הlə·’āḵ·lāhfor foodH402

√ ʼoklâh — foodPreposition-lNounfeminine singular

וַֽיְהִי־way·hî-And it wasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

כֵֽן׃ḵênsoH3651

√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb

kên (H3651), "so" — the seal way-hî kên recurs (as in v. 24), closing the provision: the order God spoke is the order that stands.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-to-every living-thing-of the-earth and-to-every bird-of the-heavens and-to-every [thing]-crawling upon the-earth in-which [is] a-breathing-creature living — [I-have-given] every green herb for-food. And-it-was so.

Where the English smooths the original

יֶ֥רֶק BSB "green plant" renders yereq (H3418) — a very rare word (6 verses) meaning greenness, verdure. Cambridge: more literally "all the green, or verdure, of the herbs." The animals are given the leaf and grass; man (v. 29) the seed and fruit — a deliberate distinction English flattens.
נֶ֣פֶשׁ BSB "the breath of life" is nephesh ḥayyāh (H5315 + H2416) — the same "living soul/breathing-creature" spoken over the beasts in v. 24 and over man in 2:7. The thread of shared nephesh runs from animal to human; here it marks every creature that breathes as a recipient of God's provision.
לְאָכְלָ֑ה BSB "for food" (lə-’oḵlāh) echoes v. 29 exactly, but the menu differs: animals receive only the green herb, not the seed-bearing and fruiting plants given to man. From this Delitzsch and others infer an original world without predation.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Literally, lo! good very! Not simply good, but good exceedingly. It is not man alone that God surveys, but the completed cosmos, with man as its crown and glory

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

That which He saw to be “good,” on each separate day, was but a fragment; that which He sees to be “very good,” on the sixth day, is the vast ordered whole, in which the separate parts are combined.

source ↗

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

This final blessing of God’s completed work on the Friday must be compared with the final words of Christ spoken of the second creation, upon the same day of the week, when He said “It is finished.”

Ellicott's parallel between the "very good" of the first creation and Christ's "It is finished" of the second is a typological reading, offered as comparison, not as a verbal link in the text.

source ↗

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

It had been said of each day’s work, except the second, that it was good, but now, of every thing, that it was very good. For man, the master-piece of God’s works, and his visible image and deputy here on earth, was now formed and constituted the head and governor of the whole.

source ↗

And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ĕ·lō·hîm ’eṯ- way·yar kāl- ’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh wə·hin·nêh- mə·’ōḏ ṭō·wḇ way·hî- ‘e·reḇ way·hî- ḇō·qer haš·šiš·šî yō·wm

Word by word15 · parsed

אֱלֹהִים֙’ĕ·lō·hîmAnd GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיַּ֤רְאway·yarlooked uponH7200

way-yar’ (H7200), "and He saw" — the seventh and culminating inspection; no longer of a part but of "all that He had made."

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

עָשָׂ֔ה‘ā·śāhHe had madeH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

וְהִנֵּה־wə·hin·nêh-and indeedH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

wə-hinnêh (H2009), "and behold" — the interjection turns the survey into wonder; this is delight, not mere approval.

מְאֹ֑דmə·’ōḏ[it was] veryH3966

√ mᵉʼôd — properly, vehemence, iAdverb

mə’ōḏ (H3966), "very, exceedingly" — the single intensifier that lifts the day's verdict above the six "goods" before it. The whole is more than the sum of its good parts.

ט֖וֹבṭō·wḇgoodH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseAdjectivemasculine singular

וַֽיְהִי־way·hî-And there wasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

עֶ֥רֶב‘e·reḇeveningH6153

√ ʻereb — duskNounmasculine singular

וַֽיְהִי־way·hî-and there wasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

בֹ֖קֶרḇō·qermorningH1242

√ bôqer — properly, dawn (as the break of day)Nounmasculine singular

הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃פhaš·šiš·šîthe sixthH8345

√ shishshîy — sixth, ordArticleNumberordinal masculine singular

haš-šiššî (H8345) — the ordinal alone in the week to take the definite article. Grammar itself marks day six as the day, the consummation toward which the others were ordered.

י֥וֹםyō·wmdayH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine singular construct

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-saw God all that He-had-made, and-behold-[it-was] very good; and-it-was evening and-it-was morning — the-day the-sixth.

Where the English smooths the original

מְאֹ֑ד BSB "very good" is ṭôḇ mə’ōḏ. The Pulpit gives the Hebrew word-order: "Literally, lo! good very! Not simply good, but good exceedingly." Only now, with the whole completed and man its crown, does the recurring "good" become very good — the superlative reserved for the finished cosmos.
וְהִנֵּה־ BSB "and indeed" renders wə-hinnêh, "and behold!" — an exclamation of contemplation. The verdict is not a flat assessment but, as the Pulpit puts it, "an expression of admiration": God surveys His work and delights in it.
הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃פ BSB "the sixth day" renders yôm haš-šiššî — and uniquely this day carries the article: "the sixth day," not merely "a sixth day." K&D: "The sixth day, as being the last, is distinguished above all the rest by the article." The definite article marks the climax and seal of the creative week.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Two acts, one day: the land peopled, then crowned — 1:24–25

Day six, like day three, is built of a double act. Charles Ellicott counts "four words of power" across it: the higher animals, then man, then the charge to increase, then the grant of food. The first word commands the earth to bring forth — תּוֹצֵא, the same causative used of the plants in v. 11 — so that, as The Pulpit Commentary insists, the beasts "spring from the plastic dust" not by evolution but "in obedience to the Divine call, and as the product of creative energy." Yet the Hebrew keeps a careful register: in v. 25 the verb is עָשָׂה ("made"), and Cambridge catches it — "the word 'made,' Lat. fecit, not 'created.'" The land animals are fashioned; the verb bārā’ ("create") is being held back for man. John Gill notes a further subtlety the English list erases: v. 25 reverses v. 24's order, "beginning the account with the last mentioned, as is frequent in the Hebrew language" — a chiastic close. And one thing is pointedly missing. The blessing pronounced over the sea-creatures in v. 22 is, says Cambridge, "here omitted" — "the blessing was allowed to drop out," because the narrator is hurrying toward the creature in whom the day will culminate.

ii. "Let Us make": the plural that the centuries could not agree on — 1:26

For the first and only time, the fiat changes person. Not "Let there be" but נַעֲשֶׂה — "Let Us make." Albert Barnes marks the elevation: God "calls attention to the work as one of pre-eminent importance," and "the language of the fiat of creation ascends to the Creator himself." The plural verb is the battleground, and the voices here are genuinely divided — deliberately so. Charles Ellicott, cautious, will say only that "in Elohim, the many powers concentrated in one being, lies the germ of the doctrine of a plurality of persons in the Divine Unity" — and immediately adds, "It is not a formal proof of the Trinity." Cambridge goes further the other way, judging the Trinitarian reading historically "untenable: for it would read into the Book of Genesis the religious teaching which is based upon the Revelation of the New Testament," and preferring the "plural of Deliberation" and the address to the heavenly host. Between them stand the image-words themselves: צֶלֶם (ṣelem, a struck outline) and דְּמוּת (dəmûth, resemblance). Keil & Delitzsch, against the Greek Fathers who split body from soul, hold them synonyms "merely combined to add intensity" — Luther's "an image which is like Us." Whatever the plurality means, Alexander Maclaren fixes the result: "between man and them all there is a gulf, since he is made in the divine image. That image implies personality, the consciousness of self, the power to say 'I,' as well as purity."

iii. The jubilant song: created, male and female, blessed — 1:27–28

When the deed is told, the prose breaks into verse. The Pulpit Commentary hears "the threefold parallelism of the members of this verse… suggestive of the jubilation with which the writer contemplates the crowning work," and the verb of creation, בָּרָא, sounds three times. Ellicott reads the repetition as proof that "man has that in him which was not a development or evolution, but something new"; Barnes presses it inward — "Man in his essential part, the image of God in him, was entirely a new creation." Then the single creature becomes two: אֹתוֹ ("him") and, a breath later, אֹתָם ("them"). The image is borne by humanity as male and female. The blessing of v. 28 falls, as The Pulpit Commentary notes against the Septuagint, on "them. Not him." And its second word is fierce: וְכִבְשֻׁהָ, from kāḇash — "A strong word," says Cambridge, "denoting subjugation to power," which "confers upon him responsibility for the exercise of his powers." Yet the imperative is gentled by its own history: Matthew Poole reads it "rather a promise or benediction than a command, as appears… from Genesis 2:22, where the same words are applied to the brute beasts, who are not subject to a command." Barnes sums the difference from the animals' blessing: "It differs from that of the lower animals chiefly in the element of supremacy."

iv. A vegetable world, and the verdict over the whole — 1:29–31

The day's fourth word is the grant of food, and it is a deed of gift: נָתַתִּי, "I have given." Albert Barnes reads it as "the primitive deed of conveyance, which lies at the foundation of the common property of man in the earth." The menu is plant only — and divided. Man receives the seed-bearing herb and the fruiting tree (v. 29); the animals receive, as Cambridge renders it literally, "all the green, or verdure, of the herbs" (v. 30). Ellicott states the consequence plainly: "the food originally assigned to man was vegetable; nor was express leave given to eat flesh until after the flood." The voices then divide honestly over whether this implies a world without predation. The Pulpit Commentary reports that "Delitzsch infers that prior to the introduction of sin the animals were not predaceous," but answers that "the geological evidence of the existence of death in prehistoric times is… too powerful to be resisted" — a tension the Berean parses do not resolve and neither will we. Then the seventh inspection: טוֹב מְאֹד. The Pulpit Commentary gives the bare Hebrew — "lo! good very! Not simply good, but good exceedingly" — and Cambridge explains the leap from six "goods" to one "very good": each day was "but a fragment; that which He sees to be 'very good,' on the sixth day, is the vast ordered whole, in which the separate parts are combined." The day alone takes the article — the sixth — and the work is sealed.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read on its own terms, the sixth day is structured as an ascent and a deed. Four times God speaks; each word lifts higher — beast, man, mandate, food — until the recurring "good" of the week becomes, once and only once, "very good," and the day alone is given the definite article. The unit's own internal grammar makes two claims I take to be load-bearing. First, that man is both continuous with the animals (made the same day, of the same ground, given the same word, sharing the same nephesh ḥayyāh) and discontinuous from them (named not by "let the earth bring forth" but by "Let Us make," stamped with ṣelem, told with the rare verb bārā’). The text refuses both the flattening that makes man only a clever beast and the inflation that severs him from the creation he is set to rule. Second, that dominion is downstream of the image, not the reverse: rāḏāh and kāḇash are granted to the creature already made "in Our image," so that rule is the effluence of likeness (K&D's word) and not its substitute. Where the older voices and Cambridge part — on whether "Let Us" preaches the Trinity, on whether Eden was bloodless — I follow the Verifier's discipline: the Hebrew of v. 26 gives a plural verb-form and the rare noun ṣelem, not a doctrine of three persons; the doctrine is a later, fuller light read back, legitimately, by Christians, but it is not asserted by this verse. The verse asserts less and means more than either side admits: that the God who is somehow "Us" made a creature who is somehow "them," one and many, in His likeness — and called the whole, with man its crown, exceedingly good. (This paragraph is the tool's fallible reading, ⚙, offered to be tested against the Word.)

The God who is somehow "Us" made a creature who is somehow "them" — one and many — in His own image, and called the whole exceedingly good. (An interpretive line from the synthesis layer, not a verse of Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The animal census re-run in the ark: "kind, cattle, creeping thing" verbal / quotation — confirmed

The threefold roll of v. 24 — bᵉhêmâh (cattle), remes (creeping thing), each "after its kind" (mîyn) — is the very vocabulary the Flood narrative reaches for when it gathers and then destroys the same orders. The link is carried by genuinely rare lexemes: remes (H7431) occurs in only 17 verses of the Hebrew Bible and mîyn (H4327) in only 18; their co-occurrence is not a coincidence of common words but a deliberate re-use of the creation-list. The Verifier's computed basis for Genesis 7:14 is the shared cluster remes / mîyn / bᵉhêmâh / chay — a verbal echo, not merely a theme. What God orders into being here is exactly what He preserves and judges there.

Genesis 1:24 · Genesis 6:20 · Genesis 7:14 · Genesis 8:17

basis: Verifier (Gen 1:24 ↔ Gen 7:14): shared rare lexemes H7431 remes (17 vv) and H4327 mîyn (18 vv), with H929 bᵉhêmâh and H2416 chay. The low frequency of remes and mîyn makes the Flood-list a verbal re-use of the creation-list, not a generic thematic overlap.

The food-grant, rewritten after the Flood: herb given, then flesh added verbal / quotation — confirmed

"I have given you every… herb… for food" (v. 29) and "I have given every green herb for food" (v. 30) are the original, vegetable-only deed of conveyance. Genesis 9:3 deliberately re-opens that deed and amends it: "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; as I gave you the green herbs, I have given you everything." The Verifier ties v. 30 to Gen 9:3 by the rare pair yereq (H3418, "green/verdure," only 6 verses) and ’oḵlâh (H402, "food," only 18 verses), with the donation-verb nâthan — and rates v. 29 ↔ 9:3 a verbal link on ’oḵlâh / ‘eseb / nâthan. The post-Flood grant quotes the Edenic grant in order to expand it; the change in the menu is measured against the original by re-using its own words.

Genesis 1:29 · Genesis 1:30 · Genesis 9:3

basis: Verifier (Gen 1:30 ↔ Gen 9:3): shared rare lexemes H3418 yereq (6 vv) and H402 ʼoklâh (18 vv), with H6212 ʻeseb and the verb H5414 nâthan. Gen 9:3 re-uses the Edenic food-grant's own vocabulary to amend it — a textual quotation, not a loose theme.

"Be fruitful and multiply": the creation-blessing re-spoken to Noah structural / thematic — confirmed

The blessing of v. 28 — pᵉrû ū-rᵉḇû ū-milʼû ("be fruitful and multiply and fill") — is repeated almost word for word to Noah in Genesis 9:1, re-instituting the creation mandate on the far side of judgment. The Verifier records the shared cluster pârâh (H6509, "be fruitful," only 28 verses), râbâh ("multiply"), mâlê’ ("fill"), and the blessing-verb bârak (H1288). The same words first fell on the sea-creatures (v. 22), which is why several voices (Benson, Poole, JFB) read them as benediction rather than command. The thread runs Eden → ark → renewed earth on a single, repeated formula. Tiered structural rather than verbal: although the lexemes recur, this is a re-used liturgical formula / shared pattern of blessing rather than one text citing another.

Genesis 1:28 · Genesis 1:22 · Genesis 9:1

basis: Verifier (Gen 1:28 ↔ Gen 9:1): shared lexemes H6509 pârâh (28 vv), H7235 râbâh, H4390 mâlêʼ, H1288 bârak. A re-spoken blessing-formula (pattern), not a quotation-with-attribution; tiered structural by preference for under-claiming.

The image borne forward, and made the ground of justice structural / thematic — confirmed

The ṣelem / dəmûth of v. 26–27 is not left in Eden. Genesis 5:1 re-states it ("in the likeness of God He made him"), and Genesis 9:6 turns it into the warrant for the sanctity of human life: "Whoever sheds man's blood… for in the image of God He made man." The Verifier links v. 26 to both by ṣelem (H6754, rare — only 15 verses) together with ’âdâm (H120). Because the connection is the recurring concept and noun rather than a quotation claim, it is tiered structural/thematic, not verbal — but the rarity of ṣelem makes the through-line unmistakable: the same image that dignifies man in creation grounds the prohibition of murder after the Flood.

Genesis 1:26 · Genesis 1:27 · Genesis 5:1 · Genesis 9:6

basis: Verifier (Gen 1:26 ↔ Gen 9:6 and ↔ Gen 1:27): shared H6754 tselem (15 vv) + H120 ʼâdâm. The image-noun is rare but the link is a continued concept/term across passages, not a citation; tiered structural rather than verbal.

"Let Us make" and "one of Us": the plural speech of God flagged — verify source

The plural cohortative נַעֲשֶׂה ("Let Us make," v. 26) recurs at the only other comparable moments in Genesis: "the man is become as one of us" (3:22) and "let us go down" (11:7), and again in Isaiah 6:8 ("who will go for us?"). This is a link of grammatical form — a first-person plural in the mouth of God — not of shared vocabulary: the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme between 1:26 and 11:7, and only the common noun ’âdâm between 1:26 and 3:22. The connection is real but must be argued from morphology, not asserted from a lexeme; and what the plural means (Trinity? heavenly council? plural of deliberation?) is exactly the point the voices contest. Flagged, in the spirit of under-claiming, because the basis is a contested grammatical reading rather than a verified verbal quotation.

Genesis 1:26 · Genesis 3:22 · Genesis 11:7

basis: Verifier: Gen 1:26 ↔ Gen 11:7 returns NO shared lexeme; Gen 1:26 ↔ Gen 3:22 shares only the common H120 ʼâdâm. The thread rests on a shared 1cp verb-form (morphology), which the Verifier does not score, and on a disputed interpretation; therefore flagged, not confirmed.

From "good" to "very good": the sealing verdict structural / thematic — confirmed

The refrain "and God saw that it was good" (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) is gathered and surpassed in v. 31: "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." The Verifier links v. 31 to v. 25 by ṭôḇ (H2896, "good") and râ’âh (H7200, "see") — both very common words, so the basis is the repeated pattern of inspection-and-verdict, not a rare quotation. The structural force is in the single added intensifier mə’ōḏ ("very"): the parts were good; the completed whole, with man as its crown, is good exceedingly.

Genesis 1:31 · Genesis 1:25 · Genesis 1:4

basis: Verifier (Gen 1:31 ↔ Gen 1:25): shared H2896 ṭôwb and H7200 râʼâh, both high-frequency. A repeated inspection-verdict refrain (structural pattern), not a rare verbal link; the added H3966 mə’ōḏ marks the climax.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Image in which the image was made: Christ the true εἰκών widely-held

Man is made "in the image of God" (v. 27, ṣelem). The New Testament names the One who is that image: Christ, "the image (εἰκών) of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3). Keil & Delitzsch, commenting on this very verse, draw the line forward: the divine likeness "was shattered by sin; and it is only through Christ… that our nature is transformed into the image of God again (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24)." The Adamic image is restored by being conformed to the Image it always pointed toward. Attestation: widely-held — this reading (Adam's image fulfilled and restored in Christ) is the mainstream patristic and Reformation reading; it is a cross-Testament theological link, not a verbal one, since Greek εἰκών and Hebrew ṣelem cannot share a Strong's number.

Genesis 1:26 · Genesis 1:27

The Last Adam and the sixth-day "It is finished" widely-held

The unit closes on the sixth day with the completed work pronounced "very good" (v. 31). Charles Ellicott hears a deliberate echo across the Testaments: "This final blessing of God's completed work on the Friday must be compared with the final words of Christ spoken of the second creation, upon the same day of the week, when He said 'It is finished.'" The first Adam, crown of the first creation, is answered by the Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), the firstborn of a new creation, whose finished work on a sixth day inaugurates a new "very good." Attestation: this is a typological reading, offered by Ellicott as comparison; it is figural, not a verbal link in the Hebrew text, and is marked as such — ancient in impulse (the Adam–Christ typology of Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) though Ellicott's specific Friday parallel is a homiletical, novel application.

Genesis 1:27 · Genesis 1:31

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Three honesty notes specific to this unit. (1) The plural of v. 26 is left contested on purpose. The thread "Let Us make / one of Us" is tiered flagged — verify source because its basis is a grammatical form (a 1cp cohortative), not a shared lexeme — the Verifier returns no shared word between Genesis 1:26 and 11:7. The voices themselves split: Ellicott calls it a "germ" but "not a formal proof of the Trinity," while Cambridge judges the Trinitarian reading historically "untenable." We assert only what the text asserts — a plural verb-form and the rare noun ṣelem — and flag the doctrine as later, legitimate, fuller light, not a claim of this verse. (2) Whether Eden was bloodless is genuinely disputed in the sources and not resolved here. Keil & Delitzsch and Delitzsch argue from the vegetable-only diet (vv. 29–30) that there was no predation before the fall; the Pulpit Commentary and Cambridge answer that the geological/palaeontological evidence for pre-human death is "too powerful to be resisted." The Berean parses do not adjudicate this, and neither do we. (3) The Christ links are cross-Testament and therefore cannot be "verbal." Greek εἰκών (Col 1:15, 3:10) and Hebrew ṣelem (v. 27) share no Strong's number; the image-of-God-in-Christ connection is tiered as a structural/theological reading and the Last-Adam / "It is finished" parallel as typological — figural, ancient in impulse (Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15), but argued rather than lexically proven. One editorial flag: several voices (Gill, JFB, the Cambridge editors) intrude post-biblical natural science and rabbinic legend; these are reproduced verbatim where quoted but are the human ✦ layer, not the machine ⚙ synthesis.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)